Matthew Lee Johnson was given the death penalty after he brutally attacked 76-year-old Nancy Harris by dousing her in lighter fluid and setting her on fire during a robbery at a convenience store in Texas in 2012.
According to court records, Johnson had demanded Harris open the cash register right after pouring the flammable liquid on her.
Johnson was caught shortly after the incident. He admitted to the attack but claimed he never intended to kill her.
He told authorities that the lighter fluid was meant to scare Harris, and he had been under the influence of drugs at the time of the crime.
As he stood just minutes away from death, Johnson looked directly at Harris’ family—who were watching through a nearby glass window—and asked for their forgiveness.
He said: “As I look at each one of you, I can see her on that day. I please ask for your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt her.”
During his 2013 trial, Johnson described himself as the “lowest scum of the earth,” owning up to the pain and destruction he caused.
“I hurt an innocent woman. I took a human being’s life. I was the cause of that. It was not my intentions to – to kill her or to hurt her, but I did,” the inmate confessed during his final moments.
Before his execution, Johnson took a moment to speak to his wife and daughters. Apologizing for losing hope, he said: “Just know that it’s nothing that y’all did. I made wrong choices, I’ve made wrong decisions, and now I pay the consequences.”
“Welcome me father, thank each and everyone of you for being here. I’m done, Warden.”
He also expressed appreciation for the prison staff, thanking them for treating him with dignity, fairness, and giving him a chance to reconnect with his faith before the end.
